Jul 15, 2007 10:46 am US/Central
Families Criticize U.S. For Missing Security Workers
(AP)
The families of four American security workers who were kidnapped in Iraq asked for the public's help Saturday and criticized the federal government for what they claim has been a slack effort to find them.
"We are very frustrated," said Thomas Young, a cousin of Paul Reuben, a St. Louis Park man who was kidnapped with his colleagues Nov. 16 in southern Iraq. "The government should offer help for all its citizens, not just those in uniform. It seems to me the government plays favorites."
Reuben, a Marine Corps veteran and former St. Louis Park police officer, had been working as a security contractor for Crescent Security when he was kidnapped near the Kuwait border on Nov. 19. Some officials in Iraq have blamed the hijacking on a criminal gang.
Mark Koscielski, a Minneapolis gun-shop owner and friend of Reuben who went to the Middle East in March to do his own investigation, claimed he has an informant in Iraq who knows what happened to the men, though he offered no specifics. He also said he and others have raised $150,000 to use as ransom to gain the men's release.
"If we can get into Iraq to talk to Iraqis who know where they are, we can resolve this in a peaceful way," he said.
The families asked anyone with information to contact their Web site, www.save5.net.
Others at the news conference included Mark Munns, the father of Californian Joshua Munns, and Dennis DeBrabander, the stepfather of John Young of Kansas City, Mo. A statement from Francis Cote, the father of Jon Cote of Buffalo, N.Y., was read aloud. Cote said he believes the U.S. effort to find his son and the others had "lessened over time."
The families said they were pushing for action because British troops are slated to begin withdrawing from the region where the men disappeared.
Paul McCabe, a Minneapolis FBI agent, said people who go to Iraq are putting their own lives in danger as well as those of the hostages.
"I can't emphasize enough that it's a top priority to find these missing people and bring them home," he said. "The FBI, the State Department, the U.S. military and the Iraqi authorities continue to coordinate our efforts to find these hostages. But it's a war zone, and the difficulties are magnified."
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